Effective Yoga Postures For Uterus Strength
Uterine strength is a key component to female sexual health. When the uterus weakens after childbirth, through old age or with a prolapsed uterus, you should focus on strengthening the pelvic floor muscles that surround the organ to help rebuild strength. Even if you don’t have a weak uterus, yoga poses and proper anatomical alignment can help prevent weakening and prolapse.
The Pelvic Floor Tension Domino Effect
Tension in any part of your body can easily cause a domino effect if not treated promptly. If one muscle is tight, it can tug on structures all around it. Patients with pelvic floor tightness can experience pain in their hips, low back, knees, even all the way down to their feet and up to their jaw!
If you have pain in any part of your body, its common to guard or tense nearby muscles to minimize discomfort or protect yourself from further irritation.
People who suffer from urinary incontinence sometimes guard because they are anxious about leaking. Someone with pelvic floor muscles dysfunction may guard by over activating their pelvic floor muscles or the nearby muscles in their hips and thighs.
If you spend too much time tensing any muscle, the muscle wont be able to relax enough to perform a proper contraction. This means that tension can actually make your muscles weaker.
Other muscles may try to do the job of the muscle that isnt functioning poorly. This creates imbalances in the body, and the cycle of pain and guarding can spread.
Yoga Pose 10 Crow Pose
Intense upper body strength exercise and its wise to avoid doing any Yoga poses on the ledge of a balcony!
This list of 10 Yoga poses that may increase pressure on the pelvic floor is by no means exhaustive.
Some women have sufficient pelvic floor strength and function to perform these Yoga poses without straining their pelvic floor.
Other women with weak pelvic floor muscles, prolapse problems, after prolapse repair surgery or with pelvic floor muscle tension may find that they benefit from avoiding or modifying these poses.
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Yoga Poses That Will Help
Yoga poses that increase pelvic and abdominal stability without significant increases intra-abdominal pressure will help with prolapse.
Mula Bandha:
In a study published in 2018 by the International Journal of Yoga, the technique of Mula Bandha may be beneficial to mild pelvic organ prolapse. Mula bandha is a technique that engages the pelvic floor muscles, along with the deep core muscles. See a yoga therapist or pelvic floor physical therapist for more instruction on proper pelvic floor muscle engagement and how to incorporate it with this exercise.
Supported poses:
- Legs up the Wall with a block or folded blanket under the pelvis.
- Supported Bridge pose with a yoga block under the sacrum.
- Reclined butterfly pose with blocks under the knees.
Breathing:
Do not hold your breath when you have a prolapse, whether you are lifting a bag of groceries or practicing yoga.
Holding your breath will create extra pressure in the abdomen, which will encourage your organs to migrate further south. Practice deep breathing on a regular basis and also exhale with movement.
Exhale with Movement – Do not hold your breath while you move. Try exhaling with the following activities:
- Transitioning from lying down to sitting up
- Transitioning from sitting to standing
- While lifting anything
- While pushing anything
- While bending over to empty the dishwasher, take out laundry, weeding your garden, etc.
- Putting on your socks, shoes and pants
- Getting out of the car
- During exercise
Yoga Poses To Cure Prolapse
Out of all the options available today for curing the prolapse of the abdominal organs yoga has been found to leave the longest lasting results. The flow of the movements of the yoga techniques especially of certain yoga asana is designed to stretch and strengthen the muscles and ligaments that hold the abdominal organs in place.
The cavity of the abdominal region is the area in the body which is supported by the skeletal system only from behind the front wall is a just a multilayered corset of interwoven muscles bereft of any bony support. Moreover the urogenital system, the uterus, intestines, stomach, spleen, liver, the kidneys and the rectum are all resting in this region itself. Yoga for the health of large intestine benefits the abdominal prolapse to a great extent.
The health of these vital organs remains at the mercy of factors like general posture, strength of the associated muscle groups, age, and gravity. Taking care of the strength of the associated muscles only will automatically arrest the remaining three. Out of all the available options of exercise the mode in which yoga poses to cure prolapse operate on the body has been found to be the most muscle friendly.
Similarly a prolapsed uterus and yoga come under the umbrella term of postnatal yoga, a separate group of yoga techniques strengthen the muscles surrounding the uterus, which is in the process of relapsing into its original shape and size after childbirth.
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What Is Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when one or more of your pelvic organs drops from its normal position and moves into or outside of your vaginal canal or anus. This can occur for many different reasons, including pregnancy, childbirth, hysterectomy, constipation, chronic coughing due to respiratory problems, being obese, and anything else that puts pressure on your belly.
What Causes The Pelvic Floor To Weaken
Like other muscles they can be damaged, a long history of constipation can weaken the pelvic floor muscles. They can also become weakened by surgery in the pelvic area. In women, the most common cause of damage to the pelvic floor is the strain and stretching involved in childbirth large babies and the use of forceps can increase this damage. Muscle tearing or episiotomies can cause further damage. A long history of constipation can also weaken the pelvic floor muscles in both men and women.
In some men, the lower bowel can prolapse through the anal canal and bowel control can be affected. In women, weak pelvic floor muscles may lead to prolapse of one or more of the pelvic floor organs the bladder, womb or bowel. A prolapse is when these organs are not correctly supported and they start to push down against the vaginal walls. Symptoms of a prolapse can include a bulging or heavy dragging sensation in the vagina, pain or discomfort during intercourse.
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Recipe For Salve For Pelvic Organ Prolapse
- Fill a pint jar with dry comfrey leaf and broken up/dried horse chestnuts.
- Cover the herbs and nut with olive oil.
- Put a lid on your jar.
- Place the jar in a crock pot on a wash cloth and fill the crock pot with water.
- Keep the water level below the rim of the jar so water does not get into your oil extract.
- Put the lid on the crockpot and keep your crock pot on the warm setting for 3 days.
- Add more water to the crockpot as needed.
- Strain out the oil.
- You can melt some beeswax into the oil to make a salve or use the oil extract as it is.
- If you wish to add beeswax, add a tablespoon of grated beeswax for every 4 ounces of oil extract and melt this. The crockpot method will work well for this. Do not use a microwave.
What Not To Do At The Gym
1. Drinking excessive amounts of water.
This crazy idea that the more water you drink the better is a load of clever marketing bunkum. There is no evidence that drinking more water that what our thirst dictates has any health benefits. In fact, excessive fluid intake can do the opposite it can put strain on the heart and, in extreme cases, lead to hyponatremia , risking seizures and even death.
Overfilling your bladder is not a good idea for the long term either if you regularly overfill it, the continual stretching of the balloon-like bladder muscle causes it to lose its elasticity, and eventually, its ability to empty properly. Thirst is the best guide as to how much you should drink.
2. Doing aerobic exercises when your pelvic floor muscles arent strong enough.
If you leak when you jog, skip or play sport, youre not alone. Studies consistently show about 30 percent of women have the same problem. But just because its common, doesnt mean its normal or OK.
Bladder leakage is due to the lax supports of your bladder and weak pelvic floor muscles. If they arent strong enough to withstand the pressures of high impact exercise, they need to be strengthened, just like any other muscles in the body.
You can get your pelvic floor muscles into better shape by doing pelvic floor exercises every day.
3. Doing resistance or core strength exercises that cause you to strain down.
4. Being constipated.
5. Wearing panty liners.
6. Not relaxing your pelvic floor muscles.
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Yoga For Pelvic Organ Prolapse
As a physical therapist I prescribe home exercise programs that increase pelvic floor and core strength for women with prolapse. If you are interested in yoga, check out Optimizing Bladder Control: Strengthening the Pelvic Floor. The content is similar to a traditional physical therapy program with the additional focus of the breath and specific yoga postures.
Just like you would monitor when exercising with diastasis recti abdominus, you want to be sure that the load is not too much for the system. Be sure you are not bearing down if you are practicing a side plank or regular plank. Sometimes modifying with your knees down is a way to still activate your core but still have enough control in the pelvis.
Please note, sometimes women who have surgery for a pelvic organ prolapse will need to have a revision, so it is wise to practice these tips even if you have had surgery!
Id love to hear from you! Let me know if these tips are useful or have something to share in the comments below!
Virbhadraasana Ii / Veerabhadraasana Ii / Warrior Position Ii
There are several Virbhadraasanas and this is one among them that strengthens the mid section of the body.
Steps to do Virbhadraasana II:
Hold the position for 30 seconds and relax. Repeat 10 times.
There are other yoga aasanas/positions that you can practice to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles:
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What Are The Different Types Of Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Symptoms Of A Rectocele
Women who have been diagnosed with a rectocele will often feel vaginal pressure or discomfort as the rectum is pressing into the back of the vaginal wall. You might feel a bulge, or feel like there is something stuck in your vagina. You might also feel sexual dissatisfaction.
Because of this relaxation of the rectum forward, you may start to have incomplete emptying during bowel movements. This might lead to more straining, which increases your risk of making the rectocele worse.
STRATEGY
Try a splinting technique with bowel movements. Press your fingers up and back at the perineal body during a bowel movement. Alternatively, insert your finger into your vaginal canal, pressing back toward the rectum. This creates more structural support and stability at the vaginal wall during bowel movements.
And, dont forget to optimize the anorectal angle by using a stool to elevate your feet while having a bowel movement!
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Can Yoga Worsen Prolapse
Some Yoga poses may have the potential to increase pressure on the pelvic floor and prolapse. Women can often be guided by their prolapse symptoms increased prolapse symptoms during and/or following Yoga may suggest that the exercises performed increased pressure on the prolapsed tissues. When repeated over time, symptom producing exercises may worsen a prolapse.
First Lets Talk About Prolapse What Is It
Prolapse is a condition in which one or more of your pelvicorgans shifts from its ideal position and hangs a little low. It occurs as aresult of loss of support from the internal structures that keep everything inplace, and from a decrease in support from below .
Women can develop these types of prolapse:
- Rectocele when the rectum bulges into the vaginal wall
- Cystocele when the bladder bulges into the vaginal wall
- Enterocele when a portion of the small intestine descends and pushes into the vaginal wall
- Uterine prolapse when the uterus lowers into the vagina
- Vaginal vault prolapse when the uterus has been removed and the top part of the vagina drops down into the vaginal canal
- Rectal prolapse when part of the rectum drops down toward the anus
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How Does Exercise Help With Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Whether you are a candidature for surgery, or during rehabilitation from surgery, exercise has an important role in reconnecting and strengthening your pelvic floor muscles and strengthening the musculature surrounding them. Specific exercise for prolapse can greatly improve and manage symptoms, however certain exercises are contraindicated for prolapse and can make things worse.
Things to remember
- Lighten your weights or resistance so that you dont feel pressure down on your pelvic floor as you move.
- Avoid holding your breath by exhaling with effort using your core breath .
- Reduce the depth of your squats and lunges aim to keep your hips at a higher level than your knees.
- Avoid all abdominal exercises and instead chose abdominal exercises that resistance lateral and frontal flexion
- Maintain good posture.
- Choose supported positions .
- Keep your legs closer together during exercise, no wide legged squats or squat jumps.
- Lift your pelvic floor before you move and relax afterwards.
- You may need to add some rests, or reduce the number of reps that you do in a row, while your pelvic floor muscle fitness improves.
How Effective Are Pelvic Floor Exercises
Pelvic floor exercises can improve the symptoms in mild and moderate cases and sometimes also prevent the organs from slipping down further. The beneficial effects may already be noticeable after a few weeks. But these exercises dont always help. Some women still have problems despite doing them. To increase the chances of success, its important to do them as instructed and especially to do them regularly. To prevent pelvic floor problems from returning, you have to continue doing the exercises in the long term. So its best to make them an integral part of your daily life. They dont usually have any negative effects.
Pelvic floor exercises are more effective if the prolapsed organs are in the front part of the pelvis, where the bladder and urethra are found. If you have had prolapse surgery, pelvic floor exercises probably wont help much more at least not in the first few years after the operation. Studies in this area have found that pelvic floor exercises dont make a difference in women who have already had prolapse surgery. But its not clear whether the exercises might prevent the organs from dropping down again in the long term.
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When To See A Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist
It is important to note that yoga by itself will not reverse a pelvic organ prolapse. There are many factors and behaviors that contribute to prolapse. It is best to be seen by a pelvic floor therapist for a complete examination and treatment plan for your condition.
At Femina Physical Therapy, we offer personalized, one-on-one yoga therapy sessions that are geared towards your interests, body type, and condition. If you are in need of this therapy and have a little one at home that makes it difficult, many patients over the years have chosen to bring their babies with them to the session. We are proud to be a baby-friendly office and increase access to our services by making it easier for new moms to attend. Contact us to get started on your healing path.
Resources
Huang AJ, Jenny HE, Chesney MA, Schembri M, Subak LL. A Group-Based Yoga Therapy Intervention for Urinary Incontinence in Women: A Pilot Randomized Trial. Female pelvic medicine & reconstructive surgery. 2014 20:147-154. doi:10.1097/SPV.0000000000000072.
Prosko, S. Organ Prolapse and Yoga.
Sweta K, Godbole A, Awasthi H, Pandey U. Effect of Mula Bandha Yoga in Mild Grade Pelvic Organ Prolapse: A Randomized Controlled Trial. International Journal of Yoga. 2018 11:116-121. doi:10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_32_17.
**This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor.
Yoga Exercises For Rectal Prolapse
Rectal prolapse refers to the descending or drooping of the rectum via the anus. It occurs when pressure in the abdomen is greater than the strength of the pelvic floor, connective tissues and deep core muscles that help in keeping the bowel in its place. Yoga exercises that strengthen pelvic and abdominal stability without significant increase in intra-abdominal pressure will help with rectal prolapse. However, it is important to note that rectal prolapse cannot be reversed by yoga exercises. Rectal prolapse is usually caused by a combination of many factors, behaviours and habits. It is best to go in for a complete examination and treatment plan from an urologist for prolapse in Chennai.
How useful are yoga exercises for rectal prolapse
Yoga exercises can overcome symptoms of rectal prolapse
The role of yoga in rectal prolapse is to both reduce the likelihood of prolapse in middle aged women and to serve as a therapy to women who want to improve the condition post-surgical. It is always recommended to consult the urology specialist in Chennai before starting any new exercise programme for rectal prolapse. Following are some simple yet effective yoga exercises that can strengthen pelvic muscles and help overcome the symptoms of rectal prolapse:
Can yoga exercises aggravate rectal prolapse ?
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